Ring a Ring a Rosie
by Mia-Kassia-James
Summary: Cutesy story of Rose and Scorpius' friendship. DISCLAIMER TO ANY CHARACTERS/SETTINGS. Rated for later chapters, oo-er! Read and review, and I'll frequently update. Enjoy! :   Mia
1. The Train

She stood on the platform, seemingly suspended in time. Her hair floated around her head almost eerily, as if it had a mind of its own. It hung a lot lower since he'd seen her last.

He couldn't take his eyes off her. The country air had definitely done _her_ good. She'd grown older, and not to mention, taller still, since school had ended last. Her eyes looked wiser, as though she'd learnt a few things since she'd left.

She didn't once look his way as she moved from the barrier, but stood by, waiting for her family.

She licked her lips – lips he was noticing for the first time – almost seductively. Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for something, for someone in particular. She seemed to come up empty, and she looked at her feet dejectedly.

He wondered who she was looking for, and why she looked so sad that he wasn't there. Well, he suspected it was a he, anyway. He took a tentative step toward her, feeling suddenly nervous.

A hand touched his shoulder, and he looked up into his father's grey eyes. His father followed his gaze and turned away, a sickly pale colour. The rest of her family burst through the barrier all at once, breaking her charm on him.

He looked up at his father. 'I guess it's goodbye, Dad.' He gave his father an awkward hug and pulled away first.

'Try and be good this year. We'll miss you, like always.' His father muttered, making sure no-one could hear him.

He hugged his mother, squeezing her tighter than he'd dared to do with his father. He pulled away from her first, as well. He squeezed her wrist as he turned. 'I'll see you next summer,' he said, over his shoulder.

His father wouldn't even notice that he was gone this Christmas. Besides, he knew that _she _stayed at Hogwarts during the winter break.

He turned on his heel, desperate to find a compartment of his own.

He searched through the train, dragging his trunk behind him. He didn't have to scour the train for long – most people were still saying goodbye to their parents. But, he was sixteen. He didn't need their love like the eleven year olds did. He was bigger than them – not just in stature, but on the inside. Mature, that's what his father used to say he was. Mature.

It was a funny word, but he guessed that it applied to him, all the same. Mature. He'd be the mature one. That was okay with him. It meant being alone, and alone time was something he told himself he loved.

He sat in the first free compartment he found, leaving the door open. He then stood back up, lifted his trunk onto the seat, not bothering to levitate it onto the rack.

He then closed the compartment door.

It was finally semi-quiet. The door muffled most noises that tried to push on through. He took a deep breath. Silence was the key to sanity, he thought to himself.

The train whistle blew, and loudly. There was a thundering of feet, voices too loud, outside his door. Three or four people opened the door to his compartment and then saw it was occupied and backed out again.

The wheels underneath him creaked loudly, and the engine rumbled to life.

Once he was seated, thankfully alone, he pulled out a book from his trunk. He knew that his father would hate the idea of him reading, but he also knew that his mother would love it.

He opened the book to where he was up to, and lost himself in the novel.

He never read around his parents, because he knew it would be a conflicting problem – his mother would practically squeal with delight, and his father would probably throw up in disgust. Their relationship was often like that. One would be mercilessly happy, but the other would storm around for days in hissy-fit. And he was always stuck in the middle.

He often spent his holidays on his broom, seeing how far away he could fly in an amount of time. For some reason, and he could never fathom why, he always turned around. How easy it should be to leave the place he was forced to call his home, but he never did.

When the trolley lady opened his almost-empty compartment, he bought one pumpkin pasty and started to eat it with one hand. He'd grown expert at this: pretending he didn't have a friend in the world, losing himself in the friends that words brought him. He could eat with one hand, an entire meal, too. He could brush his teeth with one hand, and even dress himself with his nose in a book.

The compartment door crashed open.

He looked up, startled.

It was her. She stood at his door, hair still floating slightly, though there was no longer any breeze to blow it. She was slightly breathless, and still carried her trunk. In her free hand she held a thick book. She bit her lip and stared at him with wide eyes. 'You don't mind?' She asked, in her musical voice. She gestured to the opposing seat. 'I've looked, but everywhere else is full.' She gave a slight grimace. 'And nowhere near quiet enough to read.'

He nodded, hopefully not too eagerly.

She looked up then, and smiled, her face breaking its worried look and becoming happy. She pulled her trunk in after her with a slight struggle, and levitated it to the rack. She sat opposite him and opened her book. Her eyes flickered to him, and he realised he was still watching her. She shrugged. 'You're Scorpius, right?'

He blushed; he couldn't believe she knew his name. He nodded. 'Potter's cousin, yeah?' He knew her name was Rose Weasley, but he couldn't bring himself to utter it out loud.

It was her turn to blush. 'Call me Rose.'

He swallowed. Was he to call her Rose because he'd be using her name? 'Rose.' He repeated, eyes flicking to the title of her book.

She sat down and opened her book. She lifted it slightly, and neither of them said anything.

He suddenly found it hard to concentrate on reading; it was all he could do to hold the book in front of his face to resist the urge to stare at her.

He couldn't help but lower the book at little and look at her.

She was reading _Mysterious Master Mannigan._ He'd read that before, hardly finding it worth his time. It was about this wizard who searched through three different realms to find his true love, before finding that his love had been murdered by Mr. Mannigan while he was searching through other realms. There'd been a hearing, in which Mr. Mannigan got off, scot-free but with a mental issue. He'd been put in St. Mungo's for safety. The writer was truly mad. 'I've read that.' He heard himself blurt out.

Rose looked up, then, hair floating a little more. She grimaced. 'So have I. Ages ago. It was all my cousin had, though. I stayed at Dominique's house this summer, and she's got a terrible collection of literature. Do you know Dominique Weasley?' Rose managed to get all of her words out in one breath.

'She's a year below us, right?' Scorpius had heard of the youngest one-eighth Veela/Weasley cousin, but wasn't remotely interested. Especially not if she was a fifth-year.

'Yeah. She's sixteen in December, though.' Rose blushed, obviously letting on more information than intended. Her cheeks were almost the same fiery colour as her hair. She bit her lip again. 'I don't really like this book – but the writing gets me, you know? The plot is terrible, but somehow I find this style of writing kind of soothing, intriguing. It draws me in and then spits me back out whenever he uses a big word that doesn't make sense. I think it was Macmillan's first novel, though.' She was a fast talker, that was for sure. Scorpius could barely keep up with her.

'Didn't Macmillan go to Hogwarts?' Scorpius asked her, remembering a rumour he'd heard.

Rose bit her lip, thinking for a moment. 'He was a Hufflepuff. I think that he was actually in the same year as my mum and dad. They were in Harry Potter's year,' She added the last bit matter-of-factly, as though it should impress him. '…but let us both hope it was his only novel, hey?' She said it like she was trying to joke around, in that same, breathless manner.

He lifted the corner of his mouth in a smile. 'My dad was, too. In Harry Potter's year, I mean.'

Rose cocked her head. 'You're a Malfoy, right?' The way she said things like that, it was like she was questioning what he knew about himself. _Now, are you sure you're really what you think? Or have they been lying to you? Think harder, Scorpius. Are you a Malfoy? Or aren't you?_

He nodded.

'My dad knew yours,' she said, giving her book a fleeting look. She put it down on the seat beside her. 'Of course, being Harry's niece means that my parents were best friends with him. Which also means that you're kind of my semi-enemy, as they hated each other.' Rose was breathing heavily, hardly able to keep up with her own pace.

Scorpius looked down at his book. 'I know.'

Rose bit her bottom lip, then, as though realising what she'd said probably wasn't what she supposed to.

There was a lull in the conversation. Scorpius cleared his throat and looked down. He had almost, nearly told her how pretty she looked. When he looked up, her blue eyes pierced him. So blue. It was the only coherent thought he could manage.

He didn't say anything, and neither did she. In time, they raised their books and looked down.

It was a matter of minutes later that he found himself staring at Rose again, wondering if she knew how beautiful she was. She wore a fringe, and it hung down in front of her face when she bent her neck to read.

Suddenly, she shifted. She moved around until she sat with her back against the window, her feet on the seat, her knees raised until she could rest the book on them and read without craning her neck. She slouched a little, making her look smaller than she was.

Scorpius shifted a bit, too. She looked up at him again.

This time, he didn't break eye contact. He'd all but forgotten about the book in his hand. He wouldn't be surprised if it suddenly dropped out of his numb fingers and crashed to the floor.

'I've read that book a lot,' Rose muttered, motioning to _Warlock Association __–__ Murder Magick_.

Scorpius shrugged. 'I don't read at home, so it takes a while to read things.'

Rose's eyebrows pushed together, probably in confusion. He noticed that he eyebrows were slightly lighter than her hair, a kind of red-gold. Almost blonde.

He was blonde. His eyebrows were nearly non-existent. The same for his eyelashes.

She cocked her head again, not breaking eye contact. 'You… don't have many friends, do you?' She asked him, her voice smaller and softer than before.

He shrugged, not willing to admit his solace to the girl he'd been dreaming about since he'd left last year.

She finally broke eye contact, glancing at her feet. 'I don't, either.' She bit her lip again. Apparently it was something she did a lot.

Scorpius looked away from her lips, back to her eyes. They were so blue. He'd heard of blue eyes before, but… hers were like the sky. He'd seen her little brother around, and he had those dull brown eyes that people have that aren't romantic at all.

Scorpius had read all about romance. He knew what you were supposed to feel, the type of things you thought to yourself when you were in love. That's why he was so sure that he was in love with Rose Weasley.

She wore a grey skirt, one that fit so flawlessly against her long legs that it looked tailored. He wondered if it was. He wasn't sure if Rose's family had money or not. He knew that, stereotypically, the Weasley family didn't, but times had changed since his father knew the Weasley's, or his grandfather. She wore a pink top, a simple t-shirt with a pink flower over her left boob. That bust… was it possible that it had grown? Her hair flowed freely, curly, floating with… what almost seemed like electricity. It was, of course, bright, flaming red. Those blue eyes, Scorpius felt them looking at him right to his very core. Those lips, the same ones she kept biting on with her straight pearly teeth, they were pinker than her shirt, and occasionally, her cheeks were even pinker. She had a thin layer of freckles, covering her nose and her jaw line, proving that she spent time in the sun. Her skin was pale, but not as pale as his. She tugged occasionally at a necklace around her neck, and she'd tuck it back under her shirt, as though hoping no-one had seen it.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts of her. He looked down at his book, and then set it aside. Screw it, he'd take the leap.

She wasn't stuck up; she _chose_ not to have friends. He'd make her his friend.

Rose stared at his book, resting on the seat, his hand still on the cover. She looked back up at him, and gestured that, if he was going to take the leap, he'd better start the conversation.

'When's your birthday?' Scorpius asked, sounding ridiculous. It was the first thing that had come into his head. Did it have to be the lamest?

Rose smiled, apparently happy with the turn in conversation. 'March. March fifteenth.' She didn't blush, amazingly. 'When's yours?'

Scorpius hesitated before answering, 'May twenty-seventh.' He'd never really told anyone that. There'd been no-one to tell, really. 'Is Harry Potter really your uncle, then? Or just your dad's best friend type of uncle?' Scorpius closed his eyes against his question. It was even lamer than the last.

Rose's smile faltered. She may not be a Potter, but she was followed like the rest of them. 'No, Uncle Harry married my dad's sister. So he's really my uncle. Lily and Albus are really my cousins.' She looked down at her feet, then. 'But, do you know what? I don't really get the whole hype surrounding them. I mean, Harry didn't defeat Tom Riddle without the help of a hell of a lot of other people, so what's the deal? If that's why everyone thinks they're so famous – because their father defeated some Dark wizard, then they shouldn't be famous at all! I mean, I just don't get it!' She then blushed again. 'I can't believe I said that out loud.'

These words weren't raised like her last; she whispered them to him. She wiped at her face, and Scorpius realised that the shining in her eyes wasn't passion, but tears. 'I've never admitted that before.'

Scorpius sat forward a little, the train rumbling underneath him. 'You know, Potter's never once acknowledged me. It's as though he thinks that because his dad is Harry Potter, he doesn't need to acknowledge others.'

Rose's cheeks went red again, though she didn't look embarrassed. 'He's my cousin, though, so I have to put up with him.' She practically snapped it at him, and Scorpius realised she though he was saying Potter was ignorant. 'Get to know Lily. She's nicer.' Then she did go red with embarrassment. 'But you probably don't care.'

Scorpius shrugged. 'I'll listen to whatever you have to say; I'm not really one for having friends… so when I do, I'm going to make the most of it.'

Rose blushed again. 'You think we're friends?'

Scorpius blushed right back. 'Yes?' His answer was quiet, small.

Rose grinned, then. Her face shone with radiance. 'Right. Friends. I like you, Malfoy.'

It took all Scorpius had not to whisper back, "I love you, too, Rosie." Instead, he spoke in a normal voice. 'You're alright yourself, Weasley.'


	2. The Hall

**Okay, so I hope you're enjoying this. If you've read it before (Hopefully you have, ha-ha!) you'll notice a few changes. If you haven't, well, of course this is the original! ;) All I mean is that I've gone through and corrected the many spelling errors Word failed to pick up. (Like when you say that you though it instead of thought it, or your scrawl instead of scowl****…**** that kind of thing.)**

**But I hope you're enjoying the idle world of Hogwarts that I've created. Well****…**** you haven't made it to Hogwarts yet, but you will. I promise that they won't spend all of their time on the train. Because that would be weird. And awkward. And boring.**

**Love, Mia!**

The next morning, the Great Hall was packed with people. Scorpius held his book in his hand, and his bag was over his shoulder. He headed towards the Slytherin table without much excitement. He'd eat what he ate for breakfast very day he was at this school – bacon and eggs – he'd also read, like he did at every breakfast.

Only, this time, while he read, he'd be thinking about how he and Rose had talked the day away in the train, changing in complete silence at sunset, and sitting down eerily in sync, opening their books and reading without exchanging a word.

He'd kept looking up to make sure she was still there, make sure she hadn't left, make sure she was still as beautiful as last time he'd looked.

He sat at the Slytherin table, swinging his legs over the bench. A group of nearby girls looked up at him and left the table, leaving him quite alone. Only one person sat across from him – Parthenia Crabbe.

It'd become some kind of joke that her name meant 'Virgin', as she was the biggest… skank in the school. Talk about legs wide open. She was practically the definition. Her uniform always violated dress codes. She was lucky that she hadn't inherited her father's fat body, or she'd be disgusting. Parthenia was a year below Scorpius, but acted though she owned the school. She spoke with a deep, man's voice, and had wider shoulders than even her father. He'd never had the guts to look at her feet, but he thought she'd probably make a good swimmer, judging by the length of her arms and shoulders alone.

There was a creaking in the bench as someone sat down next to him. He figured it'd be someone who'd mistaken him for someone else, and they'd scoot away, desperate to leave him alone.

But they didn't move. He looked up in surprise.

He saw the red hair.

'Hi!' Rose said breathlessly. Her hair was tumbleweeds of red curls. She had one clip holding her fringe back delicately, and again, her face was make-up free.

Scorpius looked over his shoulder, then back at her. Half the Great Hall was staring at her. 'Hi, Rose.' He mumbled back.

She smiled at him. 'I thought I'd come eat breakfast with my newest friend.' Rose had a way of saying things, all in one breath and then breathing out heavily at the end, breathless. It was kind of nice. She smiled over at Parthenia Crabbe, and then started a little, realising who she was. She looked back over at Scorpius.

'What about your family?' Scorpius asked, looking way over at the Gryffindor table.

Dominique Weasley and Lily Potter sat with their mouths wide open, staring with open betrayal and disgust. Albus Potter gave Scorpius a once-over glare and then smiled, the friendliest he'd been in five years of school. Rose looked over at them, at her little brother, pigging himself out, and back at Scorpius. 'They'll live,' she muttered.

She must really like him.

She looked up at the ceiling. 'Did you know that the enchantment on the ceiling broke during the Battle of Hogwarts?'

Scorpius looked up at the bright, sun-lit ceiling. 'Nope.'

Rose gave a smirk/smile. It was almost smug, and it was slow to grow on her face. 'I've always wanted to see the roof. My Aunty Luna has.'

Scorpius looked up at the roof once more, then back down at his fried breakfast. 'I think I'd know what it looks like.'

Rose nodded, but didn't say anything more. The conversation seemed to be over.

Talk about short-lived. Actually, they weren't talking.

Why was he so hilarious, even inside his own head? Scorpius smirked into his bacon. He looked back up at Rose, closing his book. He supposed it was bad manners to read while a girl sat eating breakfast with him.

Rose plonked her book on the table. 'Read,' she encouraged him, 'it's what I'd do if I weren't sitting here. I just though company while we did the same thing would be nice.' Before opening her book, she ran her tongue over her teeth and helped herself to cereal. She didn't pour milk in her bowl, though; she just picked up her spoon and ate it dry.

Scorpius turned to his book and meal, and began to eat it.

He supposed that, to anyone else, the silence would look awkward. Scorpius tried to initiate a conversation, several times, but remembered his lame attempts at conversation yesterday, and how she'd blushed constantly.

He kept eating, steadily reading the same page three times before remembering to turn the page. He'd already figured out that Rose's presence had a strange effect on him; he forgot what he was supposed to do to be normal. He would happily stare at her, without words.

Slowly, their breakfast disappeared.

Rose turned the page at erratic intervals, telling him without actually telling him that the book had sucked her deep into its confines, and she was lost to the real world, the one surrounding her.

Scorpius slowly shut his own book and looked openly at Rose. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair still doing the weird floating thing. He blushed and looked down at his plate.

It was empty of food, and soon disappeared through the table, waiting to be washed by the house-elves.

Suddenly, as her plate disappeared, Rose looked up. Her eyes were glazed over and she looked disorientated. She breathed heavily for a moment, arranging herself within the new and exciting (not) real world surrounding her, it looked like.

She then caught Scorpius' eye. She grinned at him, one corner of her mouth rising faster than the other, giving the impression of a lopsided smirk.

Scorpius smiled back. 'Breakfast any good?'

Rose nodded, apparently still too lost for words. She looked over her shoulder at the Gryffindor table. Her relatives weren't watching her anymore.

Scorpius followed her gaze. 'So. School begins,' he murmured to her.

Rose threw him a happy look. Pretend as they might, they both horded a secret passion for the knowledge school brought them. 'Finally.'

Scorpius grinned at her and stood, hesitantly offering her his hand.

Rose ignored it, twisting her mouth slightly. They both knew she'd seen it. They both knew that the other knew.

Awkward, Scorpius thought, using the hand he'd held out to scratch his thigh, as though it were his intention all along. Now they were looking at each other with wide eyes, both silent. So bloody awkward, he thought to himself, forcing a very fake smile onto his face.

Parthenia Crabbe stood when they did, struggling to get to the end of the table at the same time as them. 'A word, Malfoy?' She asked, in her deep voice. She caught his wrist and pulled him away from Rose easily.

As he was being dragged away, he saw Rose's eyes widen, and what he believed to be fear filled them. 'Sorry,' he saw her mouth, before her was turned to face Parthenia and he posse.

Parthenia was smiling. So not a good sign. Scorpius managed to work his wrist free.

'Oi, Malfoy,' Parthenia growled, stepping closer. 'I saw that, all of that,' she said, loud enough that anyone passing by the large group. Did she need to gather all her posse to talk to him? Honestly. 'Weasley, hey?' She smirked at him. 'But what would Daddy say?'

Scorpius turned and began to walk away. She was just teasing, angry and upset because he'd turned her down last year, he reminded himself. She's just full of spite.

'I'm not finished, Malfoy,' she said, louder again.

'I am.' Scorpius said, tucking his book under his arm. 'And I'm not going to sleep with you, Prairie,' He watched her blush at her father's pet name for her. He walked backwards for a few paces, getting enough distance between him and Parthenia before turning and walking away.

He rounded a corner, and Rose was right in his face. 'Are you okay?' She asked, in her breathless voice. Her face was a little pale. 'I haven't upset any Slytherins, have I?' She asked, paling again. Her face was about as pale as his. She was sincerely worried. It looked cute on her, though.

He shook his head. 'Prairie's an old family friend. She just wanted to tell me that my father wouldn't approve of the newest company I've decided to keep.' He wondered, as soon as the words were out of his mouth, if it was the right thing to admit.

Rose bit her lip. 'Are you okay with that?' She asked, her wide eyes widening again. Her chest heaved and fell.

Great. Now he was looking at her chest. Her… round… large… chest… breasts he'd wanted to touch for some time, now. He shook his head clear. 'I'm not who my father wants me to be,' he told her face going red with emotion, 'I choose who I want to keep company with. And that includes you, Rose Weasley.' His voice wasn't too loud – not like Parthenia Crabbe's, but it wasn't soft.

Rose smiled again, her eyes seeming to fill with tears. 'For the record, I'm not who my parents want me to be, either.' She bit that bottom lip yet again and took his hand in hers.

Scorpius almost dropped his book.

Rose was suddenly interested in avoiding eye contact, though her hand was warm in his, squeezing him as though he meant something to her. She took a deep breath.

Scorpius held his, waiting for her to rip her hand away. 'We need to collect our timetables,' he muttered, so low he doubted she'd heard him.

Rose exhaled loudly, not quite a sigh. 'I guess I won't dread our classes with the Slytherins so much,' she said, a smile forming. 'Not now that I have my new best friend, anyway.' She giggled and bit her lip.

She still didn't let go of his hand. Scorpius pulled his hand away and walked over to the Head of Slytherin, Professor Bullstrode, a complete blunder of a teacher – fat, stupid and ugly. She taught Ancient Runes, the one subject you didn't need to have brains to teach. It was also one Scorpius didn't take.

She shoved his timetable at him and gestured him to move out of the way.

He looked over his shoulder at Rose, who had approached Professor Longbottom with familiarity, smiling and talking before receiving a single sheet of paper.

She looked up and caught his gaze.

Scorpius looked back down at the timetable, searching for the word 'Gryffindor' anywhere. There, by Divination. And there, by Defence Against the Dark Arts. And again, by Charms.

He swallowed. Three classes. That's all he'd have with her. But he'd have lunch, dinner and breakfast. He'd have afternoons, and he'd have nights.

That was, if she wanted to be his friend.

But, she had called him her best friend.

Already.

That was a good sign… wasn't it?

Of course it was, he

First period on a Monday, he had that old bat, Trelawney. Fantastic. He'd be staring 'certain death' for the next hour. She was kooky and old, and had no idea what she was talking about. He only took Divination because it was a bludge subject, something so easy that you could fluke an 'O'. He took Potions and Arithmancy, he took Transfiguration and DADA; he wasn't stupid, but Divination was a break.

Rose sidled up to him. 'Looks like we've got a trek to the topmost tower, right?'

He gave her a look. 'You do Divination?'

She grinned. 'No. But I've got Astronomy first up. Have you got Divination?' The hikes were similar, until, at the portrait of an old geezer of a knight, Divination veered left, and Astronomy veered right.

He nodded. But he now wished he hadn't given Astronomy up.

She nodded back. 'But, hey, Albus does Divination. Got some kind of future-telling knack no-one else in the family has. Perhaps you'll be able to wheedle my future from him. He won't tell me, but I know he sees _something_ whenever I ask him.' She grinned again, the intent in her eyes crystal clear. She wanted him to see the Albus she saw. The best friend she'd clung to for most of her days at Hogwarts.

'I can try,' Scorpius amended. 'But tell him I might talk to him, or he may bite my head off. After all, I _am_ a Slytherin, and he _is_ a Gryffindor.'

Rose smirked at him. 'I'm a Gemini, what of it?'

Scorpius grinned. 'You're a Pisces.' He took her hand this time, trying to remain oblivious of her flinch. 'And _I'm_ a Gemini…'

Rose blushed. 'Oops.' She pursed her lips. 'Albus is a Capricorn. Did you know that they're an underwater sea-goat?'

Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows. How was he supposed to know that? He didn't even know when Capricorn _was._ He knew Pisces because his mother was one, and he knew Virgo, because his father was one. But… Capricorn? 'Nope.'

Rose let go of his hand to swing her bag around and rummage in it. She pulled out a folder, already half-full of paper. 'How were your OWLs?' She asked casually.

Scorpius nodded. 'Fantastic. You?' he wasn't being sarcastic. He enchanted the paper to make his 'O's 'EE's when his father looked at it. He was proud of his son, all the same. He always down graded himself in front of his father. He didn't want to seem like the kind of person who tried.

'Same.' Rose tucked her timetable away. 'Do you do Potions?'

Scorpius considered how to handle this. 'Does the sun shine?'

Rose blushed. 'I wonder if that will be a mixed class. Being such a hard class, only few get into NEWT stage.'

Scorpius took her hand again. It was warm in his own, and smaller, more delicate. Her fingers were long, her palm smaller than his. Her skin was smooth, but slightly damp with sweat. He wondered why she was sweating, but realised that he was, too.

Nerves, nerves, why did they have to get in his way _now_? He closed his eyes against the nerves, willing them away. Once he felt confidant, he opened them again.

Rose was scanning the crowd, and she pulled her hand away. She lifted it in the air and waved it. 'Albus,' she called. 'Oi, Al!'

Scorpius shrank away from her, as Albus approached. He didn't look Scorpius' way, and for that, he was grateful.

He didn't want to have to actually talk to Albus. He didn't want to. He wanted Rose, and he didn't want to have to share her.

Rose grinned and began to chatter mindlessly, still using her breathless voice. Albus agreed with what she was saying, before gesturing that she should walk ahead of him, in a gentlemanly manner.

Now that he thought about it, he realised that Albus wasn't too popular, either. He could be, if he wanted, like Lily Potter, but instead, he chose to hang around with his dorky, friendless cousin more often than not.

'I wanted you to meet someone, Al,' Rose said, then, turning to the space Scorpius had been standing.

He'd vacated the spot, standing quite a while behind them. Rose turned and locked eyes with him.

She blushed then, and bit her lip. Her eyes were wide and apologetic. Her shoulders dropped a little, and she turned back to Albus. 'My newest friend,' she mumbled, 'St John.' She motioned to the empty space beside her and curtseyed. She nodded at nothing and turned to Albus with a fake smile.

Albus looked over Rose's shoulder at Scorpius, and then at the spot beside Rose. 'Nice to meet you, St John.' He held his hand out and pretended to shake a hand.

'Silly,' Rose said, leading the way toward the topmost towers, 'St John is my imaginary friend. You can't shake his hand.' She started to climb the staircase, with Scorpius tailing close enough to keep her in earshot. Her voice was soft, and sounded a little hurt.

Scorpius wasn't one for being courageous, or even slightly brave. He knew that his father was the same type of person.

Upon thinking that, Scorpius decided to do something about that. He'd already told Rose that he was nothing like his father. He had to prove that to her; he had to show her that he could be trusted. He stepped up a few stairs quickly, managing to skip the false step, and drew up with Rose.

'Sorry, bathroom,' he said, loudly enough to make her turn.

She looked weary, taken aback. 'Oh.' She flinched then, her left hand hitting her right and clasping them together.

'Sorry,' he said, 'should've told you.'

Rose bit that lip. 'Yeah,' she agreed half-heartedly.

Scorpius reached over Rose and shook Albus' hand. 'Hi.'

Rose watched them with wide eyes, slowing her pace. Scorpius wondered if he was doing the right thing.

Albus also watched him a bit wearily. 'Hi.' He took his hand away and stopped, waiting for Rose.

She had stopped, some way down the staircase, and her eyes looked ready to overflow with tears.

'Rose,' Albus said, his voice low, 'come on, love.'

Rose just shook her head.

'It's not that bad, Rosie.' He continued, holding his hand out for her.

Rose seemed to deliberate, but her voice held no hesitation at all. 'No.' She turned on her heel and ran down the stairs. Her class wasn't downstairs, it was above his own. Her red hair bobbed around, until it disappeared in the sea of heads trudging to their first classes of the year.

Albus turned to him. 'Well done.'

Scorpius felt his face flush with anger. Albus didn't have to be a prat. He had absolutely no right to be! Scorpius knew he'd done the wrong thing by Rose, already, he'd been there to see those eyes she'd given him. 'I know,' Scorpius said, rather harshly.

'Listen, mate, if you're gonna be her friend, you've got to be extra careful.' Albus said, actually talking to him. They climbed the stairs, their steps in time with one another. Albus lifted a hand to his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

Scorpius thought he was incredibly naff, but didn't have the guts to tell him so. He shrugged. 'She's strong, right?'

Albus snickered. 'She's completely pathetic.'

Scorpius had to look at the ceiling to keep from glaring at Albus. Who was he anyway, trying to destroy a barely kindled relationship? 'We must know different sides of Rose, then.'

Albus laughed. 'I know every side of Rose. I think you'd be surprised by our relationship, Scorpius Malfoy.'

Scorpius shrugged, pretending not to listen. He didn't have to talk to Albus bloody Potter if he didn't want to.

'I'm being deadly serious when I say this,' Albus said, veering left with a nod at the knight, galloping around on a fat pony. 'There are a lot of people that would kill you if you stepped on Rose's heart.' With that, he stopped walking and glared at him. 'Me included. And probably my father. Don't forget that he defeated Voldemort.'

Scorpius could detect the joke in the sentence, but he didn't want to be jokey with Albus Potter. 'Not without the help of a lot of other people,' Scorpius repeated Rose's words.

Albus chuckled, almost darkly. They continued to climb the stairs. 'I see you've been talking to Rose. I practically heard that in her voice, then. She tells me that almost every day, you know. You'd think she'd give it up, but no…'

Scorpius cleared his throat. 'Well, she's my friend. I'll listen to whatever she has to say.'

Albus sneered at him. 'For now. Until you move on. That's how it always is.'

'No. I won't.' Scorpius shot back, pulling a face that could curdle mil if given the chance.

'And how long have you liked her? I mean, really honestly, how long have you looked at Rose and thought to yourself 'Yeah, I'd go there.'?' The way Albus phrased it made it sound incredibly crude.

But it wasn't. It was something genuine. He'd show Albus Potter that.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. 'Why do you care, Potter?' He asked, voice harsh.

Albus gave him another once-over. 'Because, twat, she's my cousin.'

Scorpius watched Albus carefully. Nope, that wasn't it. Not all of it, in the slightest. Maybe a fraction – a one hundredth of the problem. 'Tell the truth.'

Albus ran a hand through his hair. 'You know, how if you are focusing on someone as you look into the crystal ball, you see _their_ future?'

Fourth-year stuff. Scorpius wasn't retarded. He didn't even bother to nod.

'I see her crying, and you're standing next to her, pulling this face that makes me think it's your fault. You're holding hands.' Albus stopped at on the North Tower landing, facing Scorpius, and not the rest of the Gryffindors crowding the space.

Scorpius let out a shaky breath. 'I wouldn't.' He could never. 'Even if I _could_, why would I?'

Albus quirked a dark eyebrow. 'I don't know. Maybe because you've only known her for… er, hang on, you've known her how long?'

Scorpius glared at him, again. 'Prat. I'll try not to, at any rate.'

Albus stepped closer, his mouth almost touching Scorpius' ear. 'Try harder, jerk wad.'

Scorpius took a step back, and Albus grinned at him.

'Friends?'

He didn't even look like he was joking. In fact, he looked rather sincere, with only the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

If anything Albus felt about made him as passionate as he was concerning his cousin, Scorpius thought that he might be able to handle being Albus' friend. Probably in small doses, anyway.

Scorpius eyed Albus' extended hand. 'The most unlikely.' He shook his hand, feeling accomplished.

'At least I'll have someone to sit with in Divination,' Albus muttered, when they finally reached the North Tower classroom.

Scorpius grinned at him. 'Future-telling knack, hey? I just fluke it. I'm useless at Divination.'

Albus gave him a funny look. 'Honestly? Scorpius Malfoy, crap at something? The world must be coming to an end! Save yourselves!'

Scorpius grinned. 'I should have kept that to myself.'

'I'll remember it for ever,' Albus said, hand over his heart, dramatically.

'Drama queen.' Scorpius rolled his eyes, laughing despite himself.

Two days in, and he'd found two new friends. It was like some kind of fairy-tale.


	3. The Argument

**For any who hadn't figured it out, I am not the Queen herself… (creepy; I'm listening to 'Billionaire', and as I wrote Queen, Travie McCoy started singing about 'standing next to Oprah and the Queen…') But anyway, DISCALIMER!**

**Ps, I hope you're enjoying this! It's hard to be Scorpius… he doesn't have much of a grounding in the Potter World, but then again, neither does Rose, which makes her equally as hard. But I'm slowly and steadily falling in love with them. Both.**

**Reviews are muchly appreciated. The more reviews I get, the faster I tend to upload. Getting the hint?**

**Ps, the main reason it's taken me so long to upload (apart from school) is the fact that IT NEVER LETS ME LOG IN! It lets me log in at school, then I get home, and it's all 'contact support for further help'. ARGH!**

**Love Mia!**

Tuesday morning came and went. He still hadn't spoken to Rose.

Scorpius felt terrible. He'd called her his friend, and then, almost straight away, he'd gone and let her down. Why did he have to be so damned stupid? So disloyal?

As he walked, he couldn't help but glance over at the Gryffindor table. There was a flash of red hair, making his heart skip a beat – but it wasn't Rose. It wasn't even a girl. He didn't even think it was a Weasley. Looked more like a first-year.

Shaking his head, Scorpius meandered over to his spot at the Slytherin table. It was painfully empty of people. He'd never wished for company before now. Why did he have to blow it with Rose?

Why, why, why was he so constantly such a prick? He was an idiot, falling behind her and making her look like a fool. What was his problem, anyway? Albus Potter really wasn't that bad of a kid, it turned out, yet he'd already blown it with Rose.

He hadn't seen her in any of his Monday classes, but that didn't mean she wasn't in any of his classes. He hadn't been in any Gryffindor classes yet, Well, except Divination. But that didn't count because Rose didn't take Divination.

But Albus did. Scorpius didn't like to think of Albus because… the boy confused him. Albus gave him that kind of headache he got when he'd been staring at the sun. He didn't know why, either. Albus wasn't painful to talk to, and seemed more at ease with himself than Rose. But he was… an even more unlikely friend than Rose. It unnerved Scorpius.

He'd seen her at lunch, but she'd sat with her back to him. When she'd glanced over to see if he was watching, her face had contorted with what looked like rage. She'd snatched up her book and practically shouted something at Albus before leaving quickly.

Albus had looked over at him and shrugged, following her out. He'd come up to Scorpius at dinner, claiming Rose was too upset to eat. They'd chatted for a while before Albus let slip that Rose had spoken about him.

After interrogation, Scorpius had found out that Rose was more upset with herself for allowing herself to trust him. That hurt, because he hadn't meant to break her trust. Albus said he'd try and explain it to Rose, but he couldn't make any promises.

Sitting down and opening his book to the bookmarked page, Scorpius didn't know if he even felt like eating. He lifted bacon onto his plate anyway, figuring that once he got lost in his book, he'd forget about Rose, anyway.

But he didn't want to forget about Rose. Every word that started with 'r' sent a tingle through his spine, the name 'Rosie' resounding through his brain.

Every orange thing mentioned sent his brain straight to Rose's hair. That lovely orange, almost crackling with live electricity. Every blue sky made him think of her eyes.

And now he was thinking of her, he was more lost than any book could make him. He was lost in her features, in her hare-brained mannerisms. Her teeth, gnawing her bottom lip.

'Hey,' a voice intruded his thoughts.

The voice was like Rose's.

Scorpius imagined her voice, telling him that she was sorry.

'Scorpius?' That made him look up, up at Rose.

It _was_ Rose's voice. Scorpius swallowed. 'Oh. Hi, Rose.'

Her pinched and worried expression relaxed. She smiled at him. 'Can… can I sit here?'

Scorpius had to look her up and down. She still looked the same, and her voice was still the same. She held the same book in her hand, though she was considerably further into it than yesterday, he noticed. She hadn't clipped her fringe back, so it hung in her eyes. Scorpius scratched his face. 'If you want to, sure.' He didn't really know what to say; she was angry, wasn't she? He'd been a jerk, and hadn't spoken to her since. She still wanted to sit with him? Surely not?

She sat down. She kissed his cheek. 'I'm sorry.' Her voice was low, and she busied herself getting breakfast; the same dry cereal as yesterday.

His cheek. It had been kissed by Rose Weasley. His cheek… she'd kissed him. She really had. She'd kissed him. She was sorry, but she'd kissed him.

'For what?' Scorpius asked. Before she could answer, which Scorpius could see she was about to do, he continued, 'I was a prat.'

Rose laughed. She actually laughed. It was such a nice sound, Scorpius decided. So nice he wanted to make her laugh again.

Yup, he was definitely in love with Rose Weasley. Hopelessly. He barely even knew her. He wondered if she even felt the same way. It would be a long time before he'd be comfortable enough to ask her. He wasn't confidant enough to ask, and he didn't want her to turn away from him.

'Don't worry,' Rose said, interrupting his thoughts. 'We can both be sorry. I'll be sorry for trying to make you my best friend, and you can be sorry for being a prat.' She twitched then, her entire body twitching. 'But we'll have to thank Al. Apparently he thinks you're quite a catch. Maybe you should be his friend, not mine.' She gave an awkward smile.

'I don't mind if I'm your best friend, Rose.' Scorpius said, not able to make eye contact with her. He could feel his neck heating up, the blood rising to his face. He couldn't believe he was saying the things he was thinking. 'We're both a little short of friends, aren't we?'

Rose patted his shoulder. 'Friends.' She muttered. 'Just friends. For now.'

Scorpius shrugged, rejection rushing through him like fire. Wow, it hurt alright. He hadn't expected to actually recognise rejection when it rained over him for the first time. 'Just friends? Friends can hold each other's hands, kiss each other's cheeks? Right, well, whatever.' Scorpius almost physically slapped himself in the face to force himself to be quiet.

Rose sighed. 'We have to be straight with one another, Scorpius.' Her eyes did that apologetic thing again – the thing where they go all wide and puppy-like, melting Scorpius from the inside out.

He shrugged again. If he was straight with her, she'd never even look his way again if she knew how heavily he'd fallen for her. He hadn't meant to, he wanted to tell her. It was an accident; he didn't plan on falling in love with her!

But, no. he'd fallen in love with her, and though he was trying to claw his way out, Rose only pushed him in deeper. He'd fallen asleep with her in his thoughts. That was ridiculous! They'd barely looked at each other all day!

'I mean it,' Rose said to him. 'If we're not straight with each other, we'll keep arguing like this,' she sounded a little exasperated and threw her spoon onto the table, sending a kink into the waxy surface.

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. 'And what do you suggest, exactly?' He asked her, shaking his head. 'We can't decide on whether we should be friends or not, and you're telling me we should spill secrets?'

'I never said that.' Rose whispered, voice harsh in it's softness. 'I didn't.'

'Isn't that what being straight with one another means to girls?' Scorpius asked, voice rising slightly. He could feel the rejection egging him on, telling him to take everything out on her.

'No!' Rose said loudly. 'I mean that we shouldn't agree with each other and think bad things while we do! We need to say what we think!'

Scorpius dropped his head into his hands. He was being a jerk, again. This must be why he was his father's kid. He was exactly like his father. He was a jerk, an idiot, a Slytherin. 'What if my head's a private place?'

Rose's face fell a little. He expected her to start crying again. But her jaw set. Her features contorted a little. Her eyebrows furrowed, her mouth was pursed. She was angry. It was cute on her. 'What if I want access?' Her voice was strained, and a little angry, no matter how hard she was trying to control herself.

Scorpius smiled. Definitely cute. 'Friends?'

Rose didn't smile. She didn't extend her hand and she didn't agree. 'Do you want to be, Scorpius?'

No. He didn't. 'For now.' He amended, knowing she'd ask why.

She paused before answering. 'For now?' She was predictable, but it meant he already had an answer ready for her.

'Well, we have to be friends before we can be best friends, right?' Not that he wanted to be best friends, but he knew, even without knowing her for too long, that she'd never accept the idea of them… being together, like Scorpius wanted. She'd probably wouldn't ever talk to him again, as well. He'd say what she wanted him to say.

Rose sighed, then, still not smiling. She rolled her eyes, though. 'You're a suck up. Botty kisser.'

He smirked. 'How old are you, exactly? Botty kisser? Are you five?'

Rose sneered at him, playfully. They were mucking around again, and it felt good. It felt normal. It felt friendly. 'It's a common term in my household.'

Scorpius shook his head. 'I don't think my parents would understand you if you said it to them.'

'It's perfectly English,' Rose argued, crossing her arms, eyes shining happily.

'My mother grew up in Scotland.' Scorpius lied, trying not to smile.

'Liar.' Rose pinched his arm, picking her abandoned spoon up. 'You're a liar, Scorpius Malfoy!'

He shrugged. 'I had you for a second there.'

She shook her head. 'Did not.'

'Did so.'

'Nope.' Rose shovelled food into her mouth, effectively ending their conversation.

They sat in silence, occasionally shooting looks at one another. Scorpius had just made up his mind to start a new conversation when Rose stood up. She didn't grab her book, or wait for her plate to disappear. She didn't even wait for him to stand. She left without a word.

'Rose?' He called after her, watching her hair bob into the distance, getting los

t in the crowds quickly.

He shook his head and picked her book up. He'd see her in Potions, after all. He tucked her book into his bag and headed down to the dungeons.

The walk was long and dark. He would have liked to have Rose by his side as he walked the corridors, but he walked up these same flights of stairs to get to breakfast and bed each day, so he supposed that there wasn't much of a difference.

He hoped Rose hadn't decided to be gone for too long, or she might miss the start of Potions, and that wouldn't be any good at all. Her head would be chewed off.

Albus Potter didn't take this class. Thankfully. He didn't want to share Rose. She was his. She'd almost admitted it. She'd kissed him, and told him that they were best friends. She belonged to him.

He stood by the door, waiting for their Professor to open the classroom. People milled about, all from different houses. This was a bizarre, small class. There were hardly enough to make a class, Scorpius decided, watching the staircase for Rose's bright head.


	4. The Pitch

Months passed in the same manner. Rose would sit and eat with him every day – but Fridays and the weekends. Those days she sat with her family.

Scorpius figured it was okay – she spent most of her time with him, anyway. They had classes together; they spent lunch and sometimes even dinner together.

She was a lovely person, he had decided. She was considerate, and relatively quiet. She blushed way too much, and bit that bottom lip of hers all the freaking time. He didn't know where her mind went when she was silent, but he wanted to know. She had certain quirks, and certain flaws. But he loved her just the way she was. He couldn't think of anything about her that he would trade.

With each day, Scorpius felt himself fall a little more in love with her – even when they played Quidditch against each other. Or together.

Pretty much the entire Potter/Weasley clan was famous within the Hogwarts walls for their amazing Quidditch talents. Rose and Hugo were no exception. Pretty much the whole squad was their family. It was hard playing against Gryffindor, Scorpius found, especially against Rose.

Thankfully, she wasn't his direct opponent – their whole team was vulnerable against his bat and flying, disastrous ball, but he didn't see people when he played; he saw opportunities.

Molly Weasley – from the year above them – was the only Hogwarts Weasley not on the team. She'd been kicked off after she threw a Beater's bat at Madam Pomfrey, the now crippled old nurse. Hogwarts students never seemed to mind that a family made up the whole team – because they were bloody brilliant. Gryffindor hadn't lost a game since Albus and Rose had started school. They were clearly the best players on their team, and for the past year – since James left Albus and Lily, Rose and Albus had shared captaincy.

Scorpius and Rose often went out to the Quidditch pitch during free periods or weekends.

They were spending one morning fooling around on their brooms, fighting each other playfully. Rose was trying to teach him to be a Chaser, like her, but he kept knocking her off her broom.

It was comical to watch; she'd sloth-roll about six times before gaining enough balance to sit up straight, regain a clear head, and he'd send her over again.

Round and round she'd fly, gripping the rolling broom for dear life. She'd screech as she went, drawing attention from the innocent spectators along the pitch wall. Then she'd call out his name and try to catch him around the waist, he'd give a playful shove, and over she'd go.

At one point, she rolled away from him, sending her broom far away. He trailed after her, waiting to shove her again. Her eyes were shining and she was breathless again. 'This is why you play for Slytherin, Malfoy!' She'd taken to calling him by his last name, like most of the school body. She poked her tongue out at him and shot into the sky, a blur of colour against the blue.

He shot after her, catching her easily. She wasn't particularly fast for a Chaser, but she had tact. She was a whiz at strategies and manoeuvres, taking the Quaffle whenever she could. She was fairly dirty, and he liked that flare of life in her.

'You play like a Gryffindor,' he taunted.

'I am a Gryffindor,' she called back, twirling through the air like an eleven year old.

Looking over his shoulder at the ground, Scorpius wished her had a bat in his hand. He felt steadier with that bat in his hand. Like he could take on anything the sky decided to throw at him. Birds, for instance. Apparently, they could hit you with such force that both bird and wizard was sent flying away from each other. But, if you had a Beater's bat, you could hit it like a Bludger towards a player. It was effective, as it  
>a) got rid of the bird and,<br>b) hit a player, occasionally when they had the Quaffle.

Scorpius grinned at the thought of Lily Potter dropping the Quaffle when he hit birds at her. He hadn't really, but she annoyed him sometimes. She'd show up with Rose every now and then, chattering away mindlessly and taking all Rose's attention from him. He didn't like Lily very much, but supposed he'd have to try and put up with her for Rose.

She wasn't the only one vying for Rose's attention. Albus was slightly easier to put up with – considering that they were all pretty good friends with one another, but Scorpius was almost possessive of his best friend. He didn't want her wasting time with other people. He was sure he nearly had her convinced that she could fall in love with him if she wanted to.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team was made up entirely of Weasley's or Weasley descendants. Rose, Lily and Dominique were the three Chasers, and darn good ones. Albus was, naturally, their Seeker, and Lucy was their Keeper. Hugo was a Beater, and the other Beater was. In his time, Teddy Lupin was the Gryffindor Keeper, and Victoire Weasley was the best girl Beater the school had ever had. Quidditch ran in their veins.

Scorpius' father tried telling him that Quidditch ran through his veins, too, but Scorpius didn't want any talent that his father had before him – it was like recycling a person.

'Oi,' Rose shouted, drawing his attention back to her, 'What are you dreaming about down there, cloud head?' Sometimes he had no idea what went through Rose's head; what possessed her to say the thing she did. 'Not playing the fiddle, I hope.'

'Why in the name of Merlin's pants would I want to dream about playing the fiddle?' He asked her, shooting up to her level. 'And what's so bad about fiddles, anyway?'

Rose made a strange grunting sound. They were nearly as high as the clouds. 'My father played the fiddle once,' she said vaguely. 'He got the handle stuck up his nose.'

Scorpius' mouth fell open. 'How do you get a fiddle handle up your nose, exactly?'

Rose grinned, apparently remembering he was there, 'Oh, he'd had a few Butterbeers…'

Scorpius shook his head. 'Right. Remind me to never do that, okay?'

Rose laughed. 'Alright. I'll remember to remind you,'

'Can we go back? It's getting cold,' Scorpius started to lower himself to the ground, returning whether she wanted to stay or not.

Rose grinned. 'I bet I can beat you to the bottom.'

'A Galleon?' He asked, poising himself on his broom.

'You're on,' Rose said, smile contagious.

'On three,' Scorpius said, making sure she was ready. 'One,' He looked sideways at her. He grinned slyly. 'Two,'

They both shot off at the same time. They hurtled through the air, coming closer and closer to the ground with each passing second. They were neck and neck for a while, momentum pulling Rose down faster than she usually liked to fly. But momentum started pulling Scorpius down, dragging him through the air.

Her hair probably slowed her down, Scorpius thought. It wasn't very aerodynamic. That was a word he'd learnt reading Muggle books and dictionaries. It basically meant 'make fly better'. It applied to smooth things. Like his hair. Not Rose's. Though she usually tried to contain her hair with a hair band thing, in a pony tail while she played Quidditch, it was generally very fizzy and very curly.

They touched down at the same time, however. Rose giggled like a little girl in a candy shop and whipped her head about. Her hair looked like a bird's nest.

Scorpius smiled. 'You're not a bad flier. For a Weasley.'

Rose shrugged. 'You're not bad for a Malfoy.' She grinned again and dismounted her broom at the same time as his. She looped her arm through his, dragging him away from the pitch and towards the castle. 'I don't understand why we do this to each other. We both know that we're terrible on brooms.'

'We're not terrible… you're just no good.' He grinned at her, watching for her smile.

But it never came. She bit her bottom lip, hand twitching towards her wand. She took her arm out of his and began skipping. 'Have you ever seen someone skip angrily?' She asked, voice high-pitched.

Scorpius raised a single eyebrow. She was the most adorable things he'd ever seen. How did she do that so effortlessly? So many of the sixth year girls caked their faces, styled their hair and tailored their clothes. Rose just had to smile and it sent him into some sort of spiral of crazy emotion.

'I haven't. I don't think it's possible. My mum reckons she did, once. But I think she's lying, just because she wants to give me an answer that won't disappoint. But whatever, right?' Rose was completely out of breath by now, doubly out of breath due to her skipping. She stopped skipping and pulled her wand out.

She drew it out towards his face, then flicked it. He expected to go flying backwards, when her broom did. She grinned and the broom went flying to its spot in the Gryffindor Quidditch HQ.

Scorpius did the same thing, both of them effectively Vanishing their wands.

Rose bit that lip again. 'I don't want to go inside.'

'It's freezing out here,' Scorpius said, voice low. How badly he wanted to kiss her. He'd undergone weeks and weeks without so much as a slip up… would he be allowed, just this once, to kiss her?

He didn't know the answer. Surely he should be rewarded? Surely she wouldn't mind? Something deep inside him told him that she would mind – very much.

She grinned and sat down.

Scorpius dithered about for a second, wanting to throw himself on Rose, wanting to run away before he could make any rash decisions…

He sat.

They were silent.

Rose turned and looked over at him. ' You're probably my best friend, Malfoy.'

He smiled, 'you, too, Rose.'

'I really like you,' she said, her voice a mere whisper.

Their eyes locked.

Their eyes. They were stuck.

Stuck.

He couldn't move them.

He was stuck.

Still silence.

Still her eyes.

Still them, sitting there.

Still Rose.

Still wanted to kiss her.

Still watching.

Still blue eyes.

She leant forward a little, pulling him closer. Their breath mingled together. His breath was shaky, like hers.

He watched her eyes close, watched her face loom ever closer. He could see those few freckles in extreme detail. He closed his own eyes.

Her lips were against his. They were warm, they were soft. Her name must be due to the fact that her lips were exactly like a rose. As pink as a rose, as soft as a rose.

Her lips parted and she breathed onto his lips. He parted his own lips and breathed into her. He couldn't help his arms going around her waist, one twisting up to reach the ends of her hair.

Her hands held his head close to her, one on the back of his neck, the other on the back of his head.

He kissed her back, deciding that he wasn't going to back down. He'd been waiting for this for too long. She gave a small moan and pressed herself closer to him.

Her moan went straight to his pants. He felt himself twitch slightly.

He kissed her harder, and she kissed him with equal ferocity.

Finally, they pulled apart. Still ridiculously close, Scorpius opened his eyes.

Rose's were still closed, and she leant her head against his. She was so close that he could see her pores. It hurt his eyes.

She pulled back, releasing her grip on his head. He didn't let go of her, just gave her a bit of room.

'Oh my God, Scorpius.' She breathed, so breathless that she could barely talk.

'Rosie,' he muttered, pulling her lips to his again. The sensation of her lips on his was one he'd never experienced before. It was beautiful, perhaps more so than Rose herself. When he pushed her away, he heard himself say: 'You're so beautiful,'

Her hair was mussed; but when wasn't it? Her cheeks were scarlet, like the robes she wore. Her sleeves were pushed up, despite the cold, and her lips shone. Her eyes were brilliantly blue. It was true. She was so, so, so beautiful. And he hadn't even left her face yet. He could go on about her ears. They were cute. They weren't big, but they weren't tiny. They blended in with her hair – red with cold. But, no, he didn't want to go on about her ears right now… he wanted to kiss her again.

She said it right back to him. 'I think you're beautiful,' she whispered to him. 'God, Scorpius,' she added, 'I didn't think it'd feel so good,' she gave a breathless chuckle and pulled him to her. Her hands clasped the front off his robes, and she stood taller than him, crushing their lips together eagerly.

Scorpius pulled away. He'd just been made super-aware of the throbbing in his pants. He wondered just when he'd formed such a raging hard-on. He wondered if Rose noticed. If she did, she was awfully polite about it.

Rose breathed heavily and pulled right away from him. She broke his hold and sat down on the ground. 'My head's spinning,' she admitted. 'I need to calm down.'

Scorpius scratched his face and sat down with her. If he raised his knees, you couldn't tell that he was hard under his robes. He had to think of sobering thoughts. He thought of his book, but that made him think of breakfast with Rose, and, consequently, kissing her.

It made him harder. He was desperate for some sort of friction, knowing it wouldn't take long for him to finish if he just had friction.

But he forced himself to think of Divination, how the stupid Professor with the large glasses crashed into things all the time, how Albus had started sitting with him, and how they joked about things constantly.

It kind of worked.

Until Rose cleared her throat. 'You called me Rosie,' she said to him.

Scorpius took a deep breath. 'The moment called to me.'

She did her lop-sided grin thing, where one side of her smile rose quicker than the other. 'It's alright. I wanted you to call me Rosie, I just didn't know how to bring it up.'

'Pity I don't have a nickname you could use,' Scorpius said, blushing slightly.

Rose grinned at him, 'What about Moron? It suits you, I think.' She laughed at his slightly shocked expression.

Scorpius wondered what had gotten into her. Laughing, calling him a moron… it was the freest spirited thing he'd heard out of her.

Impish.

'How about Scorp?' She asked, her fingers in his hair.

He shook his head, and her fingers fell out. 'Dad calls me that sometimes.'

Rose looked sad suddenly.

His hard-on was gone.

'Why do you hate your father so much, Scorpius?' Rose asked, hand back in his hair.

'I'd rather not,' Scorpius answered.

Rose gave a whimper-sigh. 'I wish you'd trust me.'

Scorpius twisted so that he was sitting, facing Rose and holding her hands in his. 'I do, Rosie, I do. I just… it upsets me to talk about it.'

Rose gave him a look that said she wasn't sure if he was telling the truth. She pursed her lips, then bit that damnable bottom lip. 'If not now, when? I want to know.'

Scorpius took a breath. 'I don't know, Rose. I don't know.'

She gave him a sceptical look. 'That's a pathetic answer.'

'The more you push, the less likely I am to tell you. I hate nagging.' Scorpius moved again, facing the open grounds before them. Wind rippled through Rose's hair.

Rose took his hand, leant her head on his shoulder. 'I don't mean to nag. I just want to know what upsets you, love.'

Scorpius drew a shaky breath in. _Love?_ 'I will tell you. Just… don't kill my buzz, alright?'

Rose smiled against his shoulder and wrapped and arm around his waist. 'Okay.' She was silent for a second, and Scorpius wondered if she'd kiss him again.

That moment had to be the most perfect one in his entire life.

He never imagined, not in his dizziest daydreams, that she'd kiss him.

But she had.

And it'd felt amazing.

Would she ever do it again?

'Scorpius…' Rose said, her voice quiet. 'We just kissed.'

Scorpius looked away from her tumbling red hair, then. 'I know.'

Her mouth twitched. Scorpius realised that he was watching her again. 'What does it mean?'

'What does anything mean, Rose?' Scorpius didn't mean to be that philosophical guy, but he didn't want her to pull away from him. His arm was around her shoulder, and he could rest his chin on her head if he sat up straight.

Rose sighed. 'I like you; you're my best friend.'

'We don't have to do this now.' Scorpius muttered, kissing her flushed cheek.

Rose smiled at him, lips enticing him. 'I want to.'

Scorpius took his turn to sigh. 'But I don't.'

'Spoilsport.' Rose muttered, her smile fading slightly.

He could sit like this forever. She was so warm against his side – the perfect antidote to the cool wind. Her scarf was in his lap, and her hair occasionally blew into his face. _I love you, Rose Weasley_, he thought to himself, not courageous enough to say it out loud. 'What should we do now, beautiful?' He asked, instead of confessing his feelings.

'I'd like to sit here… take in the beauty, you know?' Rose's voice was slightly muffled; she wasn't watching the view, but tucked into his shoulder. He wondered if her eyes were even open.

'What if we take in _this_ beauty?' Scorpius asked, lifting her off him. On the grass, their lips met.

Rose sighed and pulled away, looking very happy. 'Sure, I'm fine with that.'

So they kissed.


End file.
